


No. 5, Crystal Gem Springs

by twdsparkz



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Childhood Trauma, Depression, Drug Abuse, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Enemies to Friends, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, Foster Care, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Mental Health Issues, Mental Institutions, Past Child Abuse, Past Jasper/Lapis Lazuli (Steven Universe), Past Rape/Non-con, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Roommates, Self-Harm, Slow Burn, Suicide Attempt, Trauma
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-13 08:54:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29898666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twdsparkz/pseuds/twdsparkz
Summary: Of all the places and scenarios Peridot thought she might end up in at the age of 19, a mental ward was not one of them. After graduating high school and hitting the wall, she finds herself admitted into Crystal Gem Springs in the hopes of securing a speedy recovery and return to her original, "perfect," life, where she acted the dream daughter and scholar. In the interim between then and now, she finds some means of employing her time by way of an intrigue for her roommate, Lapis- a mysterious and detached girl whose feelings Peridot cannot make sense of.
Relationships: Amethyst/Pearl (Steven Universe), Lapis Lazuli/Peridot (Steven Universe)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 24





	1. The Perfect Child

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoy!

Of all the places and scenarios Peridot thought she might end up in at the age of 19, a mental ward was not one of them. She’d always been a straight-A student- and a type A one, too, often driven to nothing less than complete fury at being beaten at exams, or losing her rankings. She could spend hours upon hours poring over her AP physics, calculus and chemistry textbooks back in high school, way into the hours of night until light began to break again at the horizon. She would often fight off sleep for days at a time, until her eyes became ringed with dark circles, and she seemed to exist by a miraculous concoction of black coffee, mountain dew and sheer force of will alone- and she’d prided herself on it at the time, enjoying raking in the acclamations and the jealousy of her competitors. 

She’d had no friends, sure, but rationalised that there were none of her equals among her peers, and that she would be equally as lonely if surrounded by a group of “friends” extracted from the generally undesirable masses, as she could be sitting and eating her lunch with nothing but her calculator for a companion. She’d had something of a superiority complex back then, she conceded to herself with shame, but it had sprung from feelings of inferiority in the first place. To her, her academic achievements were her crown- her only redeeming feature. Without them, she was nothing. And by that logic, she had become nothing.

It’d been so easy to force herself to read or learn just about anything in high school. She’d gotten into her dream college, Delmarva State, on a prestigious scholarship, and was easily accepted into both her dream degrees- having picked out a double degree of aerospace engineering and computer science. She’d moved halfway across the state, and was more than ready to return to her studies, having found herself listless and distressed after school- with no friends or interests to occupy her time and mind, her thoughts had begun to race wild, until there was nothing for her to do but lie sprawled out across her bed, day in day out, and listen to her headphones blare frantic techno music, while she watched the ceiling fan pointlessly spin its blades. She supposed that was probably when it started.

Peridot thought it would get better once she removed to her dorm. But, by then, some interminable seed seemed to have been planted in her mind- a great buildup of years of repressed emotion, now free to run amok and gradually culminate in complete detachment. She could hardly listen in class without her eyes growing bleary, and her mind going distracted. She’d try and study for hours, but was barely able to complete a sentence before she would have to read and re-read it over again, not sure if anything had sunk in and becoming more and more confused by the minute, as though the words were rearranging themselves into a meaningless jumble of nonsense before her eyes. 

The reality hit her fully once exams started. She was stuck somewhere in between complete panic and total apathy as she began to fail her classes, and had to be referred to the school counsellor, and then the head of admissions, where she was told her scholarship was at stake unless she kept up with her studies.

Long story short, a bottle of pills and a bottle of vodka had been the outcome. She didn’t remember much between then and now, though there were flashes every so often- there was someone walking in, lots of shouting, distressed voices and noise, which seemed abstract and far-off and unimportant at the time, and then an ambulance. There was the uncomfortable sensation of a tube down her throat, and being unconscious, and then waking up in a hospital bed.

“You swallowed some pills, and then some alcohol,” a nurse explained to her when she woke up.

She nodded with a deadpan expression, fully aware of what had happened, and finding it strange that it was now being explained to her- as though it wasn’t her own doing, but instead a blameless mistake- an accident with no perpetrator.

It was now a couple days later, and she was checking in at the front desk of Crystal Gem Springs, with an orderly by her side to ensure she didn’t go hell for leather towards the nearest exit (not that she had any plans to). It was her parents’ decision that she be admitted into a psychiatric ward- they had temporary power of attorney over her, and exerted it in this way rather than have her come home and be under their constant vigilance. She resented the choice a little- she’d never had a particularly good relationship with them, and thought rather that they didn’t wish to expend the effort for her, who they must now perceive as a disgraceful burden. They’d spoken to her a little over the phone, and Peridot had detected something like shame mixed in amid the tone of her mother’s concerned inquiries.

The perfect child was gone- or, at least damaged beyond repair.


	2. Room No. 5

“Name?” The receptionist inquired with a kind look, her deft fingers tapping away with preternatural speed at the surface of her keyboard.

“Peridot Olivine,” She replied, scanning the waiting room meanwhile. It was bright, clean, white and modern, with a climate chilled to an uncomfortable iciness by the aid of an air-conditioner turned way too high; in summary, exactly how one would imagine the view and conditions of a psychiatric ward. A well-maintained pink orchid sat by the window sill in a giant glass urn- a human touch which seemed rather to further isolate the room from the real world than induct one into it, as a reminder of the world outside which had now been rendered inaccessible.

“Oh yes, we’ve been expecting you,” The receptionist greeted with a warm smile. “I just need you to fill in these papers, and then we’ll check you in.”

The papers were just a formality- she had been admitted against her will, and thus no consent was obligatory on her part; though she appreciated the illusion of autonomy, for whatever it was worth.

A clipboard was pushed under the panel of glass, and Peridot struggled to write with a pen tethered in place by a cord, so as to avoid having it stolen or, (worse), used as a weapon. After filling in the preliminary details, she signed off, the orderly signed off, and another orderly was called in to come and escort Peridot into her new residency. She was a very tall, dark-skinned woman, with hair styled into a voluminous afro.

“Hello. You must be Peridot,” She said by way of greeting, in an English accent- unsmiling, but with a kind warmth in her tone. “Welcome to Crystal Gem Springs. I’ll be giving you a run-down on how things work around here, and showing you to your room.”

Peridot nodded in response, before being lead through a locked door and into the main corridor.

“My name’s Garnet. I’ll be your personal therapist for the duration of your stay. You’ll also have group therapy, which is run by Pearl- she’ll be down to meet you in just a second,” The woman explained, leafing through a different clipboard. “You have personal sessions twice a week, at 3:00 on Mondays and Thursdays. Group sessions are on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 1:00. You don’t have to remember this all at once- there’s an itinerary in your room.”

Peridot nodded again, the pair having reached what she guessed to be the main room by this time. It was nice enough, and more personable than the foyer; there were pictures, schedules and decorations plastered across the walls and pinned to cork-boards, orange lounges placed around the room, and a giant checkered mat which covered the floor. More important, however, were the other people- among them, a short, full-bodied latina woman with a mane of extremely long lilac-purple hair.

“Hey Garnet! Who’s the newbie?” She cried out in an exuberant voice, beaming with a giant cheshire-cat grin as she ran up to greet the pair.

Peridot blushed a dark vermillion-red at suddenly being the centre of attention, having lost her prior inconspicuousness. All eyes in the room were suddenly on her. Among them she discerned a brilliant pair of deep ocean-blue eyes, impossibly sad, and set into the hard, steely face of an unfriendly-looking young woman- there being such contrast between her eyes and face that it was striking. Her hair- a dark cobalt-blue which matched her eyes- had been hacked haphazardly into a short-cropped style with feathery bangs, likely the product of being chopped with dull kitchen scissors. Peridot’s face only reddened as their eyes met, and her ability to speak completely abandoned her. She’d never been good with pretty girls.

“She’ll tell you when she’s ready, Amethyst,” Garnet replied, having noticed Peridot’s discomfort. “I’m showing her to her room right now.”

“Cool! Which number?”

“Number 5,” Garnet responded coolly.

“Number 5?” Amethyst almost yelled, before turning to shout: “Hey, Lapis! You got a new roomie!”

Peridot quickly surmised who “Lapis,” was, based off of the reaction of the girl with whom she was still exchanging an unbroken stare. She felt embarrassed as the girl narrowed her eyes into an icy glare, before turning away, apathetically, to look out of the window.

“We can finish the introductions later, after checking in’s been finished,” Garnet interceded, speaking in a manner which left Peridot sure that she’d sensed the animosity from Lapis, and had intervened to save her from further humiliation.

 _Great_ , Peridot thought, _five seconds in and somebody already hates me. That’s a new record._

Before any further exchanges could be made, Garnet had escorted her out of the room. Still, Peridot was unable to get the image of the girl with the sad eyes and serious face out of her mind.

“Here we are- Number 5,” Garnet announced as the pair stopped before a door with a metallic silver placard fixed to the frame above it. It was a slider door, without a knob, and with a large window fixed into it.

Peridot scrutinised the room as she stepped in, more for the sake of her intriguing new roommate than any fascination that could be found in it. It was much like the rest of the compound; white and impersonal, with a large window fixed in between two single beds. To the left of the room, a duvet in various shades of aqua and navy blue lay atop of the bed, and posters covered every inch of the walls, depicting various indie bands, artistic schematics and surfers. It was reasonably messy, too, with a thick layer of ripped jeans and dirty T-shirts spread across the floor and swept under the bed, and spilling out of a modest dresser. To the right of the room, there was nothing but a single spartan bed covered in a white, iron-pressed sheet.

“Sorry about the mess,” Garnet observed, sounding somewhat annoyed. “That’s your bed, there- and there’s your schedule on the side table, which’ll give you your activities for the week. Wake-up call’s at 7:00 every morning. We eat breakfast at 7:30, lunch at 12:00, and dinner at 6:30, with snacks in between. Bedtime is at 10:00. There’s checks every half-hour during the night, but you’ll get used to it pretty quickly. I’m sorry if it’s a lot of information.”

“It’s okay. I get it,” Peridot responded as she leafed through her schedule.

“Do you have any questions or concerns?” Garnet inquired.

Peridot shook her head.

“You can come out and meet the others when you’re ready. For now, you should unpack and start getting settled. It’s 1:00 now- you and me have a session in two hours, and we can discuss things a bit more then. I’m sure it’s a lot to have thrown on you all at once, so I won’t overload you with anything else for the time being. Just relax and take some time to gather your bearings,” Garnet added gently, a faint smile now on her face.

“Welcome to Crystal Gem Springs,” She added by way of a goodbye, as she shut the door to the room, leaving Peridot alone to think over the day, the past week and her life as a whole.


	3. By Way of Introduction

_Crystal Gem Springs,_ Peridot mused scornfully. It sounded just clean enough to keep the sensitivities of parents and families intact- like it was a “health spa,” rather than a clinic. 

“Oh no, _Peridot_ didn’t swallow a bunch of pills and some vodka. _Peridot_ is at a health spa, because _Peridot_ is a perfect student who would never do _anything_ to make us ashamed...” She mimicked in a high-pitched, annoying tone as she unpacked her bag, hoping to encapsulate her mom’s personality. 

“ _Peridot_ is a dork who talks to herself,” an amused voice sounded from behind her.

She jumped a foot in the air at the presence of this unexpected observer, which caused her to then slip on a wayward article of her roommate’s clothing, and fall back with such force that she was barely able to save herself from cracking open her head on the nightstand. The purple-haired girl from earlier was also on the floor, but from hysteria at the scene she’d caused.

“Oh my God, you really are a dork!” She managed to articulate in between laughs.

“Get out of my room!” Peridot yelled as she tried to stand up, turning red again at yet more humiliation to add to her brief stay thus far. The pair of alien-printed underwear which she had been holding was now on her head, adding further injury to her pride.

“Chillax, Peri. I’m just trying to help you get better,” The girl smirked, imitating the rhetoric of all the doctors, nurses and therapists they’d both come across thus far.

“Who are you?” Peridot demanded.

“They call me Flame. I’m here because I burnt down a school,” She replied, suddenly serious and dangerous. 

Peridot gulped awkwardly, not sure of what to do, until an elegant, sing-song voice exclaimed:

“Her name is most certainly _not_ Flame, and she is _not_ in here because she burnt down a school.” 

A slim, pale woman in her late 20s with a rather large, pointed nose stood poised at the door, clipboard in hand, and looking unamused by “Flame.”

“Oh come on, Pearl! You’re no fun!” The girl whined as she pulled herself up from the ground.

“I can’t imagine what fun you find in tormenting new residents,” The woman scolded, before turning towards Peridot. “You must be Peridot Olivine. I’m Dr Pearl Evans, but you may refer to me as Pearl. I trust Garnet has given you an overview of Crystal Gem Springs, and how’ll you spend your time here?”

Peridot nodded.

“Ah, perfect! As you well know, then, I’m the director in charge of group therapy. We have a session starting in the next 5 minutes, which’ll be a fantastic opportunity for you to introduce yourself and meet the other residents. I see you’ve already met Amethyst,” She explained, sounding displeased at the last part, to which Amethyst pulled a face and stuck her tongue out at her. “After our group session, we have art therapy, as you can see from your schedule there.”

“I’m not allowed to do crafts anymore, because I ate the glue,” Amethyst blurted. Pearl nodded at this.

“She’s right. If you see her near any glue, report it immediately.”

“But it’s so delicious!”

“There will be no glue-eating on my watch.”

“Come on! You should try it! How else can you know whether or not it’s good?”

“I am _not_ trying glue…”

The conversation continued along these lines for a while longer, with Peridot observing the exchange, not knowing what to think. After a while, Pearl interrupted the subject, seeing that she wouldn’t be able to prevail over Amethyst.

“Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Peridot. Now, let’s get everyone to convene in the main room so we can get our session started,” She announced excitedly, before leaving the room in a dramatic turn, and proceeding to call out to the ward in a bird-like succession of squawks. 

“Ugh, she’s such a stiff,” Amethyst groaned, though Peridot could see something like an affection for the woman in her eyes. “So, are you a choicer, or involuntary?”

The stout girl now occupied herself in rummaging through Peridot’s clothes, inspecting her nintendo switch, and trying to find anything of interest among her possessions.

“Actually, I’ve got a question for you, instead: when are you leaving?” Peridot retorted, snatching a second pair of her glasses off of Amethyst’s small nose.

“You’re gonna make a lot of friends around here with that attitude.”

“I don’t want friends- I want to be left _alone_.”

“Then you and your roomie will get along great,” The girl observed with a wry smile, unfolding and looking over a selection of Peridot’s T-shirts, searching under the bed, and rifling through the drawers.

The mention of her “roomie” piqued Peridot’s interest, and her face went red again at the image of the girl with the ocean-coloured eyes. She seized the thread of conversation as quickly as possible.

“My, uh, ‘roomie?’ You mean that Lapis girl?”

“Yeah, the one who totally snubbed you earlier. I was like, ‘damn, girl, that is co-old.’”

“So, you think she doesn’t like me?” Peridot asked, rubbing her neck in thought.

“Oh yeah, dude, she totally hates you. But don’t worry- she hates everyone. Me included,” Amethyst added, snatching back the pair of glasses and putting them on again. 

“I can’t imagine why,” Peridot replied sarcastically.

“Amethyst, Peridot! Our session’s starting!” Rang out Pearl’s voice from the main room.

“Time for some kissy-touchy, kumbayah, pillow-talk shit,” Amethyst muttered, rolling her eyes and tossing Peridot’s glasses back towards her. 

She frowned a little, and followed the girl out the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the Kudos so far! Be sure to comment and bookmark if you'd like me to post some more!


	4. Group Sesh

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so there's a ton of new characters in this chapter...

Peridot found herself seated on a cheap plastic-backed chair- the kind with a modern curved-back design which made it impossible to sit for any substantial period of time without occasioning crippling back pain. She was seated in a circle of about 17 others, some of whom she’d already seen from when she first came in. The majority of them were engaged in energetic, noisy chatter, and seemed to be on good terms with each other. Amethyst laughed boisterously, chucking papers and spitballs at the other residents, while others roughhoused and wrestled each other into playful arm-holds and noogies. 

_I guess I’m going to be an outcast here, too_ , Peridot thought.

She did notice, however, that Lapis sat with no one to talk to either- her arms folded over her chest, eyes obscured by her thick bangs, and seeming to doze off, which was the perfect opportunity to observe her without fear of being noticed- or, at least, that’s what Peridot thought. No sooner had her eyes focused on Lapis’ face than the girl had looked back up at her, as though some instinctual or supernatural sense made her feel that she was being watched, and Peridot was rewarded for her creepiness with a hostile death stare. She was just in the process of mentally kicking herself, when Pearl spoke up and tried to contain the ruckus.

“Settle down, everyone! Jay, you know we have a strict hands-off policy! And Amethyst, we’ve talked about that kind of behaviour!”

It took some time, but gradually the whole of their commune was subdued into receptiveness, ready to listen to what Pearl had to say, (though a steady flow of quiet conversation maintained itself throughout the duration of the meeting, low enough that it was not worth the effort of suppressing). 

“Now, as you all may know, we have a new resident joining us today! Would you like to tell everyone your name, and a bit about yourself?” 

Pearl smiled, wanting to give Peridot the “honours” of introducing herself- a gesture which would have been kindly refused, if the entire room were not now staring directly at her, and strangling her into silence with their inquisitive eyes. The warm feeling as blood rushed into her face made her want to hide her head in her hands.

“Her name’s Peri!” Amethyst shouted out, laughing as Pearl told her off for stealing the limelight.

Still Peridot found her voice gone as she turned to look at all the expectant faces which stared into her own, waiting for a response. She almost died when she turned and made eye contact with Lapis again.

“I know it can be a bit intimidating,” Pearl said empathetically, “But this is a safe space, where you’re free to communicate anything you so wish, without fear of criticism or judgement.”

“Unless you’re Amethyst!” A small, red-haired girl cried out, which drew out lots of laughing and jeering, and caused Amethyst to sharply elbow the person sitting besides her.

“Okay- how about instead, we have everyone introduce _themselves_ first, so that Peridot can feel a bit more comfortable around us. Who would like to volunteer and start us off?”

“I will!” Amethyst shouted. Before Pearl could protest, she was already listing off her life story:

“So, my name’s Amethyst Diaz, I’m 22, SoCal born and raised, and I used to work as a bartender. I’ve been at CGS for 7 months now, after I got sent here for stabbing a guy with a toothbrush-”

“No, you didn’t,” Pearl quickly interrupted, stifling a few laughs that emerged from the crowd, and fearing another outburst, hurriedly interjected with, “Okay, Lesley, you go next...”

This, however, had the exact opposite effect- the room completely erupted with laughter and enjoyment at the name, with almost everyone partaking in the revelry- with one notable exception being the girl seated besides Amethyst. Her lanky body, which had been affecting cool indifference by its one leg crossed over the other, now straightened up in apparent displeasure at the name. Peridot was able to recognise her as a member of the group which Amethyst had been hanging around with back when she first entered the clinic.

“Who the hell is Lesley?” Someone yelled out amid the laughter.

“It’s Skinny’s real name!” Someone else cried back between laughs, struggling to be heard over the noise.

Pearl appeared apologetic for having unwittingly caused a tidal wave of amusement at Lesley’s- or, rather, Skinny’s- expense. The woman, who wore a dark blue midriff with a pale blue triangle across the centre, now sat swatting away the prods and pokes of the red-haired girl from earlier, and had lost all of her original laid back chill in the way she now tried to combat the crowd. Peridot took her for someone who tried hard to appear cool and disinterested, but usually failed.

“You guys are always singling me out!” She exclaimed half-sincere and half-joking to the girl next to her, who she then grabbed and began to playfully rumble- much to the delight of most of the group, who cheered and egged the spectacle on. An orderly with rainbow-coloured dreadlocks stepped forward to intervene.

“Hey, hey, hey! That’s enough, you two!” She reprimanded, extricating each from the other’s hold while somehow managing to stay both light-hearted and serious. “There sure as hell ain’t gonna be any messing about on my watch!”

“Chill, Bismuth, we were just playing,” The smaller girl replied with a grin as she pat down her frazzled hair. She had a strange, gremlin-like voice.

“Now’s not the time. Listen to what Pearl tells you to do.”

The room settled almost instantly at the orderly’s entrance. Pearl smiled at her, a bit embarrassed, though grateful.

“Thank you, Bismuth,” She replied as she lowered her eyes and tucked a peach-coloured lock of hair behind her ear, to which Bismuth smiled and winked.

Peridot saw Amethyst roll her eyes at this, while Skinny elbowed her and smirked.

The group seemed to have a level of respect for the orderly- Bismuth, Peridot guessed- as they remained calm for the rest of the session. 

The introductions continued on. The girl who’d had the skirmish with Skinny introduced herself as Carnelian, and afterwards there was Elle, G, and Jay, who all appeared- together with Skinny and Amethyst- to form a group based off of how comfortable and energetic they were with each other. 

There were a lot of people to remember. Peridot’s memory recalled:

\- Lacey, an extremely energetic girl who used to work as a trapeze artist at the circus

\- Skye, who spoke in a soft, monotone voice which could barely be discerned, and kept her eyes hidden beneath her bangs

\- Sunny, a rake-thin, egocentric model 

\- And Volya, a girl who had a large scar which ran down the right side of her face and eye, its opaque milk-coloured sheen indicative of blindness. She seemed to space-out often, and perpetually smiled a detached sort of grimace 

After them came Cherry, Angel, Biggs, Aurora, Rosalie and Sakura, who were more or less a blur of names and faces by that point.

She waited with bated breath as the circle reached Lapis, but was disappointed as the girl passed the chain on with a wordless toss of her head to indicate that she had no interest in participating. Peridot was disappointed, but found some consolation in the idea that she really shouldn’t have expected anything different

The only person of any particular interest (aside from Lapis), was a physically imposing woman seated directly across the room, who wore a tank top that made no effort to conceal her heavily muscled arms. She had lots of long blond hair, which she nonchalantly flicked aside to reveal a face whose tan skin was speckled in pale streaks and patches, presumably the result of vitiligo. The woman looked disinterested and annoyed, though acquiesced regardless to Pearl’s request that she introduce herself, exchanging some uncomfortably intense eye-contact with Peridot as she did so. Everything about her made Peridot uneasy.

“My name’s Jasper. I’m 25 years old. I used to work a bunch of “jobs” here and there, some favours for some friends, before I landed myself here.”

Some people giggled at this, knowing something that Peridot was not privy to, and which made Jasper smirk. Peridot sat in expectation of some further elaboration, though received none, as Jasper’s willingness to oblige appeared to have worn itself out.

As each person passed by, Peridot wondered how and why they’d ended up at CGS. She guessed they must be in a similar situation to her own, but couldn’t imagine any of the happy people, like Amethyst, harming themselves. 

“So, Peridot,” Pearl smiled, “Now that you know who all of us are, would you feel more comfortable introducing yourself?”

She gulped, looking around again, and figured it was best to get it over and done with as quick as possible. 

“So, uh… My name’s Peridot Olivine, as you all know…”

 _You idiot, none of them know that,_ she mentally reprimanded herself.

“I’m 19 years old, and I’m a scholar at Delmarva State, where I study Aerospace Engineering and Computer Science,” She added, with some of that habitual pride and self-assured superiority seeping into her voice. Her heart stopped as she met eyes with Lapis, who seemed to be listening with some intrigue.

“Very impressive,” Pearl nodded, and appearing genuinely interested.

“Hey, didn’t Jasper go to Delmarva State?” Someone asked, interrupting the moment.

“No, she went to the Delmarva State Women’s Penitentiary,” another called back, which caused the room to again descend into laughter. Jasper reclined back in her chair, a dark smirk plastered onto her face at the scene.

Peridot expected Pearl to tell them to stop messing about, but something about Jasper’s presence and demeanour told her that they were telling the unembellished truth.

“Alright, now that that’s complete,” Pearl beamed, relieved to have it all over, “Let’s get into our session, shall we?”

But Peridot had completely zoned out by that point. There was talk of coping mechanisms, meditation techniques, mindfulness, changing of thought patterns and so on, with people contributing suggestions (both joking and sincere). The atmosphere was relaxed and casual, unlike what Peridot had guessed it would be. Amethyst and Carnelian were still annoying, and Lapis silently watching.

Once the remains of the hour was up, art therapy began. They relocated outside to the sunny lawn with a selection of charcoal pencils, watercolour paints and pastel crayons, where they were given the theme of “A Safe Place,” to work with.

Peridot had always liked art, but had never been good at it. Her eyes were drawn for this reason to Lapis, who sat away from the others at the base of an elm tree- intently focused on her sketch pad, upon which a skilfully drawn cabin in the woods revealed itself by the quick, decisive movements of her charcoal pencil. Peridot thought it must be Canada, from what she could see of the landscape, and the grand, rippled lake which surrounded the lodge. She would have liked to ask, but was too afraid to approach the brooding girl.

No one else took "art therapy," seriously, aside from Skye, who sat sketching an underwater scene which Sunny insisted she be drawn into- posing dramatically in the way she wanted to be added into a giant clamshell.

Another orderly walked down, to which Carnelian, Amethyst and Skinny- who Peridot was seated among- began whispering.

“It’s Holly…”

“Ugh, she’s such a stuck-up bitch.”

“She told me off last week for sneezing…”

Just as this conversation was occurring, Bismuth walked over to inform Peridot that it was time for her personal session with Garnet.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Sunny is yellow pearl, Skye is blue pearl and Volya is pink pearl. I changed their names around some so there's no confusion with the actual Pearl. Rosalie, Sakura and Aurora are the Rose Quartz trio, Jay, Elle and G are Amethysts, Lacey is a crazy lace agate, Cherry, Biggs and Angel are other quartzes (Cherry Quartz, Biggs Jasper and Angel Aura quartz, specifically).


End file.
